Honesty is the BEST policy… right up until it’s not. According to Paired Life there are the timnes it’s ok to be dishonest, see the whole article HERE.
- When asked by your friend if you think she is too fat it might be better to point out that men usually prefer a woman who is 10 lbs overweight rather than 10 lbs underweight rather than saying, “Well yes you are very fat, you already know that or you wouldn’t be asking.”
- When you are at a dinner party and you don’t like the food it is far more polite (and kind) to say you enjoyed it immensely, rather than admitting you hated it.
- When your friend has a new hairstyle that really doesn’t suit her, it is more diplomatic to lie, especially as she can’t exactly stick the hair back on again if has been cut badly. What you can do is gently make suggestions to enhance her look in other ways (and therefore make the best of a bad situation.)
- If you know that by giving out a friend’s phone number it is likely to cause them a problem (e.g. bullying, stalking etc), it is better to lie and either say you don’t have it, or that you have agreed never to give out their phone number without their prior consent.
- When your in-laws come to stay you may well have plenty of occasions where you need to tell white lies.
- When a relative is terminally ill and their doctor has told you the bad news, but advised that it is not in your relative’s best interests for them to be told, or at least not yet. If that same relative then asks you what the doctor has said you might have to lie in order to protect them. This actually happened to me with my late husband when he was first diagnosed with bowel cancer, (and was recovering from the initial surgery that discovered it.)
- When you want to keep the magic of Christmas alive for your child by telling them that Santa exists (and comes down the chimney to leave your presents, after first arriving on a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer) you are obviously telling them a lie, but with the intention of making Christmas extra special for them.
- When concealing a surprise from a friend, relation or partner, e.g. a surprise party or a romantic marriage proposal.
- When your friend’s baby or child is ugly you will probably lie and say they are cute rather than offending your friend.
- If you know your friend is married but having an affair, you might lie to their spouse in order to make your friend do the right thing and either end the marriage or break off the affair.
- When we ‘enhance’ our resume/curriculum vitae in order to increase our chances of landing our dream job. We know the other applicants are probably doing the same thing, so to be in with a chance of even getting an interview we embellish a little on the truth.
